Road to Hana

Once again we drove from our condo way over there near Lahaina on the far west coast of Maui, southeast to Maa'aea, and back up past Kahului Airport.

Only this time we continued toward the east, hugging the coast along that squiggly black line that is Hwy. 360, the infamous Road to Hana. This will be an all-day trip.

The wind was strong. Bill thought he could see a rainbow in the dust hovering over that little town.

The strong winds were creating some pretty big waves.

Here's some video of the big waves.

See the windsurfer our there?

The wind was whipping salt spray off the top of the big waves.

There were even a few hardy beachcombers to be seen.

Now me...I'm not so sure I'd like to get out there in that churning surf.

I prefer the calmer beaches. But enough of this -- let's hit the Hana Highway.

It takes four maps to show it all. The Hana Highway is a twisty little passage that snakes its way around an ancient volcano where the slope enters the ocean. The road is barely wide enough for two cars to pass most of the way, and in many sections there's no room to pass at all.

When things get too narrow you'll see a "yield" sign, which means it's time to check to see if anybody's coming before you zoom across a narrow stretch.

Like this one-lane bridge.

See what I mean about twisty? That's a pretty big volcano we drove around. This is the base of Haleakala Volcano. Well, the base of the part that's above the surface of the water, anyway.

You can't exactly get lost on the Hana Highway because there are only two ways to go -- this way and back the way you came. Still, for most of the trip you're in a wilderness. But not to worry -- help is always near. Hey look...another yield sign!

This end of the island gets lots of rain, and the forest is beautiful.

There are mountain streams all along the road, which explains all the little bridges.

It's a rain forest.

It's easy to spot tropical flowers everywhere.

Narrow bridge. See the yield sign over there?

See all those red blossoms up there on the hill? See another yield sign?

Doug decided we needed to stretch our legs.

Now we've found a scenic overlook at a rest area.

Actually it is pretty scenic here.

Bonnie is certainly enjoying the view.

What's that thing over there?

Another tropical plant. You know, this place is just like home except for the landscape and the foliage and the climate and the food and a bunch of other stuff.

There's a farm down there.

And a cove.

And a great big ocean.

You know, it's easy to believe that living in a place like this would be paradise. But no, I don't think so. I mean, sure, at first it would be great. But you'd be just too far from everything and everybody you know. I guess if you crave seclusion, this is the place. But it's not for me.

Now the Road to Hana has brought us to...Hana! We stopped at the Hana Bay picnic area and had a little lunch.

Mmmmm...traditional Hawaiian plastic-wrapped Safeway sandwiches. At least Bill had thought to bring along some special Hawaiian kettle-cooked potato chips. They weren't very good, actually, but they certainly were special.

Nice beach. Sorta. I guess.

The park has a snack bar and a nice-sized community center.

And some funny-llking little birds.

We're back on the Road to Hana, only now we've passed Hana.

Lotsa little creeks with little waterfalls.

Pretty little waterfalls.

We're nearing the Seven Sacred Pools at Kipahulu. Doug has been looking forward to swimming in all seven of them.

The pools are part of Haleakala National Park. Yes, we're back in the park again, but this time we're not up there on top of the volcano where it's cold, we're down at the bottom enjoying warm ocean breezes.

This is how the Seven Sacred Pools were formed.

They're around here somewhere.

Just up that path.

And here we are! But it's been raining hard up on the mountain and the beautiful Seven Sacred Pools are ugly muddy brown today! What a disappointment!